With the recent release of Buzz, It has my attention and I'm ready to share my thoughts on my experience using it so far, and some speculation going around about Google's Buzz!

Why I think they are targeting email...

Google is clearly not trying to go head on with Facebook or Twitter, they just want to be the best web-mail out there, thus why you need a Gmail account.

I don't think it should be compared to Twitter. Buzz is more personal and better equipped for discussions and conversations, yes it does share some similarities with Twitter by the way it is consumed. Twitter for me has become like TV, its a semi-interactive celeb-reality show. I interact with friends on Facebook.

At some point most people will check their email (who would use an @myspace.com or @facebook.com* for primary email?), for most of us it's some form of web based email. Google now offers a more interactive email service then any other web based email providers with the addition of Buzz.

I've read plenty of speculation that Buzz is competing with Facebook...

Facebook is very personal, you share a lot directly and indirectly about yourself. For Buzz to compete it will have to be over the long haul. Buzz is social networking, but lacks that personal touch Facebook users are accustom to.

Look at how MySpace (now a hub for comedians and bands) has fallen off. The average person doesn't bother with more then just Facebook, and only about 20% of my friends from Facebook view Twitter, never-mind post. I think 20% is being generous too. People won't be ready for another social app, they can't even handle the new layout in Facebook without panic, how many "I hate the new Facebook" messages have you seen over the years?

I'd think Google's vision is set farther ahead on this type of project then competing for users. I'm not sure where the source of these "Buzz wants to rival insert social site here" comes from, but if Google thinks that? It's not going to happen with Buzz by itself.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Google Wave or parts of it make its way into Buzz or vice-versa. Maybe its time for Google to do something different with Reader as well. Sure it's functional, but could be displayed a lot nicer. Checking your email, reading your news/feeds, and interacting with friends all in one place sounds great. But it's not going to topple Facebook anytime soon, nor do I think that's what Google has in mind with Buzz.

Buzz is still in it's infancy stages, I'd love to see it gain popularity. I'm sure there's plenty more to come from Google, I recently started using Wave with friends, which IMO is more advanced then Buzz. To me, Buzz is just another feed aggregator with the ability to comment, much like FriendFeed.

My Advice for Buzz...

Slow and steady. Make sure the mobile platform is there to view and post with ease, and integrate Wave and Reader. Please don't abandon the project too early.

That could of been a base for Buzz, but the choice to go email based makes it feel fresh and may prove to be a smart idea, despite my initial rash thoughts. I had issues with it being only Gmail based, I don't know many of my friends or families email addresses, and willing to bet that less then half of them use Gmail. I can envision this starting slowly, and it will be interesting to see how it develops over the years.

To answer my own question's and leave you with another question:It's obvious to why its email based, they want more Gmail users. Ive used it ever since Hotmail and I've never turned back.

Facebook is still growing, this is a small speedbump for them. Google watched Facebook buy Friendfeed for 47.5M. Maybe Google thought that Facebook seen Friendfeed as a threat? I used Friendfeed to post updates to my Facebook, had to stop using it cause it would post into news feeds and was to much noise to let out, I only wanted it on my wall. Which Facebook needs to re-address that situation with to many app's spitting into my feed, we need more control/filters. Facebook is for the masses of people you do know. Following people on Buzz will be just a few people u want to hear about in the tech world, much like how my Friendfeed became and was never a threat to Facebook IMO.

Both Google and Facebook are taking back control of these activity streams, Why is this?

Google Buzz - Why Email based and is this really Facebook's demise? (Updated)

With the recent release of Buzz, It has my attention and I'm ready to share my thoughts on my experience using it so far, and some speculation going around about Google's Buzz!

Why I think they are targeting email...

Google is clearly not trying to go head on with Facebook or Twitter, they just want to be the best web-mail out there, thus why you need a Gmail account.

I don't think it should be compared to Twitter. Buzz is more personal and better equipped for discussions and conversations, yes it does share some similarities with Twitter by the way it is consumed. Twitter for me has become like TV, its a semi-interactive celeb-reality show. I interact with friends on Facebook.

At some point most people will check their email (who would use an @myspace.com or @facebook.com* for primary email?), for most of us it's some form of web based email. Google now offers a more interactive email service then any other web based email providers with the addition of Buzz.

I've read plenty of speculation that Buzz is competing with Facebook...

Facebook is very personal, you share a lot directly and indirectly about yourself. For Buzz to compete it will have to be over the long haul. Buzz is social networking, but lacks that personal touch Facebook users are accustom to.

Look at how MySpace (now a hub for comedians and bands) has fallen off. The average person doesn't bother with more then just Facebook, and only about 20% of my friends from Facebook view Twitter, never-mind post. I think 20% is being generous too. People won't be ready for another social app, they can't even handle the new layout in Facebook without panic, how many "I hate the new Facebook" messages have you seen over the years?

I'd think Google's vision is set farther ahead on this type of project then competing for users. I'm not sure where the source of these "Buzz wants to rival insert social site here" comes from, but if Google thinks that? It's not going to happen with Buzz by itself.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Google Wave or parts of it make its way into Buzz or vice-versa. Maybe its time for Google to do something different with Reader as well. Sure it's functional, but could be displayed a lot nicer. Checking your email, reading your news/feeds, and interacting with friends all in one place sounds great. But it's not going to topple Facebook anytime soon, nor do I think that's what Google has in mind with Buzz.

Buzz is still in it's infancy stages, I'd love to see it gain popularity. I'm sure there's plenty more to come from Google, I recently started using Wave with friends, which IMO is more advanced then Buzz. To me, Buzz is just another feed aggregator with the ability to comment, much like FriendFeed.

My Advice for Buzz...

Slow and steady. Make sure the mobile platform is there to view and post with ease, and integrate Wave and Reader. Please don't abandon the project too early.

That could of been a base for Buzz, but the choice to go email based makes it feel fresh and may prove to be a smart idea, despite my initial rash thoughts. I had issues with it being only Gmail based, I don't know many of my friends or families email addresses, and willing to bet that less then half of them use Gmail. I can envision this starting slowly, and it will be interesting to see how it develops over the years.

To answer my own question's and leave you with another question:It's obvious to why its email based, they want more Gmail users. Ive used it ever since Hotmail and I've never turned back.

Facebook is still growing, this is a small speedbump for them. Google watched Facebook buy Friendfeed for 47.5M. Maybe Google thought that Facebook seen Friendfeed as a threat? I used Friendfeed to post updates to my Facebook, had to stop using it cause it would post into news feeds and was to much noise to let out, I only wanted it on my wall. Which Facebook needs to re-address that situation with to many app's spitting into my feed, we need more control/filters. Facebook is for the masses of people you do know. Following people on Buzz will be just a few people u want to hear about in the tech world, much like how my Friendfeed became and was never a threat to Facebook IMO.

Both Google and Facebook are taking back control of these activity streams, Why is this?